“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” – Isaiah 65: 17

GOD has promised us to change our circumstances. No matter how painful our times may be, God has the ability to change it for us – to renew our lives with His power and refresh our hearts with His love.

“They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.” – 21

“For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain.” – 22,23

Our GOD is the God of prosperity and blessedness. He longs to bless the work of our hands. Those who labor should be rest assured that God will definitely reward them. No hard work goes waste. God enables us to enjoy the fruit of our labor.

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” – 24

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. – Proverbs 3: 13-15

WISDOM is given more value than silver or gold in the Bible. God wants His children to ‘seek’ understanding, discretion and sound judgment. And, here are the benefits of living a life of Godly wisdom –

– Long life is in her right hand.

– In her left hand are riches and honor.

– Her ways are pleasant ways.

– And all her paths are peace.

– She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her.

– Those who hold her fast will be blessed.

My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. – Proverbs 3: 21-23

This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:9-13

Perhaps everyone knows the Lord’s Prayer by heart. But, do we really know the meaning behind it? Jesus taught us to pray in a certain manner. But, He didn’t simply imply that we should rattle off His words and continue to blabber without really implementing it in our day-to-day lives.

Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done… The Lord’s prayer teaches us to surrender to God’s will first, and then seek our own good. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors… We should have forgiven those who have sinned against us even before we ask for forgiveness for our own sins and misdoings.

The Lord’s prayer is the foundation of our prayers. We don’t really need to say it word by word, but we need to understand its meaning and pray in the same manner and shape our characters and lives by it. – Amen.

Laziness and procrastination can be people’s biggest enemies! That’s why the book of Proverbs highlights the ant’s struggle to gather and store its provision at harvest. Working hard while it’s still time to work rewards us later.

Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man. – (verses 6-11)

To see ‘happy’ and ‘prosperous’ days in life, one has to be alert, diligent and disciplined.

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. – Hebrews 13: 1-3

‘Loving one another’ and ‘showing hospitality’ are the roots of Christian living. As the children of God, we don’t need to do big deeds of charity all the time, but we should always be open-hearted and kind towards people. We are instructed to love each other like brothers and sisters – we need to have pure thoughts, humbleness and respect for each other. And our hospitality should go beyond our acquaintances and friends – we should treat everybody equally.

So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. – Nehemiah 4:6

Nehemiah was the man who stood against all the opposition and rebuilt the wall in Jerusalem. People had all the reasons to be afraid and stop work. Their situation was hopeless, yet they all geared up to work towards the rebuilding of the wall.

But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.- 9

When we face opposition or trouble of any kind, we need to take some action and not remain passive.

“Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” – 14

God is always by our side. We just have to pray and seek His strength and wisdom.

So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. – 21

The Jews continued to work despite the strong opposition from the enemies, because they knew God would fight for them.